Economic Loss Doctrine Bars Insurer’s Tort Claims, Mich. Federal Judge Rules

DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge has dismissed an insurer’s lawsuit against a supplier arising from a 2016 water line failure, ruling that the economic loss doctrine bars the tort claims because the allegedly defective product was purchased for commercial purposes.

In a Jan. 3 order, Judge Thomas L. Ludington of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan further ruled that the insurer’s breach of implied warranty claim is time-barred.

The Cincinnati Insurance Co. paid $296,451 to its Michigan insured, Riverfront Medical Realty LLC, for the 2016 failure of a toilet water supply line. In turn, Cincinnati …